WFI President Steps Aside, Announces Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has announced that Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been asked to step aside and will be investigated by an oversight committee over sexual harassment, mental torture, sexual exploitation of female wrestlers charges, and more. The committee has four weeks to complete their inquiry. 

The wrestlers have decided to conclude the protests as one of their man demands to get the WFI President removed has taken place.

Anurag Thakur’s decision to remove the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from his positions and undergo a thorough investigation came after the  second round of talks between with the wrestlers, which included Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya. 

In a tweet, Olympic Gold Medallist Bajrang Punia stated ‘On behalf of all my sportspersons, I thank the government for taking our agitation and demands seriously. The government has assured us that it will do justice to the players’, after Thakur’s announcement. 

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has announced that an oversight committee will be established to investigate the allegations against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and that the panel will also look after the day-to-day activities of WFI until the completion of the inquiry. 

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was scheduled to hold a press conference to address the sexual harassment allegations and the demand for his resignation but it was postponed twice and finally deferred to 22nd January, when the Wrestling Federation will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ayodhya. Singh has repeatedly refused to step down and has alleged that there is a conspiracy against him.